Military Officers Association of America Green Valley Chapter Desert Duster Newsletter December 2017 issue

Transcription

1 In this issue: President s Message Dues Deadline is Looming/Dues Form Holiday Dinner Entertainment December Dinner Meeting Reservation Form Get to Know Your Members Holiday Wish List from the VA Continuing Needs for Homeless Veterans End-of-Year Giving Thank You, USAA for Support of Turkeys for Troops From National MOAA Supply & Demand: The Challenge of Maintaining an All-Volunteer Force 50 World War I Memorials Get $2K Restoration Grants How to Avoid Phishing Scams MOAA Shared the Spirit of the Upcoming Season Veteran s Appreciation Week Photos Law Authorizes Veteran s Salutes During National Anthem Massing of the Colors Slated for January 13 Save The Date: Auxiliary Luncheon for a Good Cause October Meeting Photos Happy Birthday, Members Events Schedule Officers, Directors and Chairs Sponsors Photo Gallery Archived Newsletters President s Message As we approach the Christmas holiday and the end of 2017, I suppose I could tell you about all our accomplishments this year, or exhort you to please get your 2018 dues to Peggy before the end of this year. I could mention our ongoing support for the Fisher House and the VA Hospital and how we really need donations of small things for the Vets such as toiletries, soap, socks, books, etc. or even those small calendars flooding your mail boxes at this time year. I could go over our plans for next year, how we desperately need volunteers for our Board of Directors and the several jobs/tasks they have to do that might require a special skill some of which do not require attending any meetings at all. I could go over all the awards and many Thank You letters we have received as a MOAA Chapter including our Level of Excellence Award which we will pin onto our Banner during the December 6 th meeting. I could even go on about Lt General Atkins slide show about MOAA s current goals (click on the presentation link on the Photo Gallery page: greenvalleymoaa.org/photos-events), or that Joel Greenberg, former President of GV MOAA, has offered a YouTube video Blind Man s Bluff to GV MOAA to view: v=qggsjep0cxa. What I will go over is why our November meeting was cancelled - because of Thanksgiving and the fact that we had to move the Christmas Social up to December 6 th to accommodate all the people that will be out of town for the Christmas holiday. We are trying it this way for just this year to see if the members approve. The Christmas Social will be held at the Madera Clubhouse at Quail Creek on December 6 th starting at 5:00 p.m. with supper served at 5:30. There will be a lot of gifts given away by drawn raffle tickets (thanks to Barbara Brown for shopping the last three months.) Note: I have heard that some of the members will be wearing special CHRISTMAS ties! We will have the swearing in of our 2018 Board of Directors, and I have heard that one our new members, Rosalie Cassiday, has offered to play the piano as members and guests are gathering for our December holiday dinner. Check out our website at greenvalleymoaa.org to get the dinner reservation form or you may print it from this newsletter. Please mail your form and check to Barbara Brown so that it is received by November 29 th. We look forward to seeing all of you at the Christmas meeting. Many thanks for making a needy Veterans or child s holiday a little brighter with the generous donations from our members. Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday. Be safe if you are traveling to spend the holiday with family and friends. May you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Jim Knox, LCDR USN (Ret) 2017 Chapter President Green Valley Chapter, MOAA PAGE 1

2 Dues Deadline is Looming The time to pay 2018 dues is running out so please get your dues paid by the end of Final deadline to pay dues to ensure we earn a cash bonus from MOAA HQ for on-time dues payment is December 31. Please don t be the one who keeps us from getting the bonus. If you have not yet paid your dues and to save yourself a stamp, consider bringing your dues check ($25 for military members and $15 for Auxiliary) payable to GV MOAA to the Holiday Dinner. Print the form below to help ensure we have the correct contact info for you. Members may also pay their dues using the form below and mailing it to the address provided. If you prefer, you may download and print this form at greenvalleymoaa.org. Military Officers Association of America Green Valley, Arizona Chapter P.O. Box 769 Green Valley, AZ CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP DUES Chapter Dues: (Regular-$25; Auxiliary-$15) Membership Dues $ Make check payable to: Military Officers Association of Green Valley or GV MOAA. PLEASE PROVIDE THE INFORMATION BELOW: Name: New Renewal Rank: Branch of Service: National # Auxiliary Address: City, State, Zip DOB (Month/Day/Year) Phone: ( ) Scholarship & Military Assistance Fund $ Donation Make check payable to: Green Valley MOAA Scholarship and Military Assistance Fund or GV MOAA Scholarship or GV MOAA Military Assistance. Dues may be paid at any meeting or mailed to Military Officers Association of America, Green Valley, Arizona Chapter P.O. Box 769 Green Valley, AZ Holiday Dinner Entertainment Auxiliary member Rosalie Cassiday will be playing festive music beginning at 5 p.m. on December 6 and lasting through the social period to get us in the mood for the holidays. Rosalie is a professional musician specializing in keyboard. We thank her for sharing her musical talents with us. Holiday dinner reservation form is on the next page. PAGE 2

3 December Dinner Meeting Reservation Form Mail your check and this reservation form to the address below. DECEMBER 6, 2017 Social: 5:00 p.m. Dinner: 5:30 p.m. Quail Creek Madera Clubhouse Please make your reservations by November 29 th! Please reserve places for me for dinner. Cost: $ ($26 per person) Select Entrée choice: (#1) Grilled Salmon with Lemon Buerre Blanc (#2) Roasted Sliced Sirloin with Cabernet Demi Glaze Meal includes mixed greens with assorted accompaniments and a choice of Ranch or Raspberry Vin dressing. Dessert: Chocolate Mousse Pie. Check # Rank: Attn: Dinner Reservation Mail your check and this reservation form to: MOA of Green Valley, PO Box 769 Green Valley, AZ Name: (please print) I am bringing guest(s) whose name(s) is/are: Entrée choice (#) GUEST 1 GUEST 2 GUEST 3 GUEST 4 If you require a ride to the dinner, please check here: C U T HE R E If you cannot get your reservation and check mailed timely, or if you have made a reservation and find you cannot attend PLEASE CALL BARBARA BROWN. Your chapter is charged for all ordered meals even if they aren t served. Please bring a check or exact cash amount to the meeting. Thank you, Barbara Brown Hearing Aid Assist Device at Quail Creek If you are a member with Hearing Aids who still has difficulty hearing the speakers at the meal-plated meetings, Quail Creek does offer a Hearing Aid Assist Loop device. The Hearing Aid Assist is a loop system in the meeting room and can be turned on and individuals would wear a device around their neck which helps amplify the sound through their hearing aids. In order for this assist device to work the individual must have a Hearing Aid or Cochlear Implants with TeleCoil (T-Coil) capability. This device only works with hearing aids with this capability and will not work on individuals with no hearing aid at all. If you or a guest would like to utilize this service at Quail Creek for future meetings, I ask that you notify us in advance so we can have it available for you. You can notify us by writing your request on your meeting reservation form, or contact Barbara Brown or barbara.brown3@cox.net. PAGE 3

4 Get to Know Your Members: Introducing Captain Fred Sexton Captain Fred Sexton, AKA Command Sergeant Major Fred Sexton volunteered for the draft in 1966, took Basic Training at Fort Bliss, TX and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Ord, CA. After completing his initial training, he was accepted to attend OCS at Fort Sill, OK. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in June of Fred arrived in Vietnam in January, 1968 and departed Vietnam as CPT Sexton in April, After completing the Field Artillery Officer's Advanced Course at Fort Sill and spending a year in Germany, he was subjected to the Reduction In Force program and after a year working for the county commission in Tampa, FL, he enlisted as a Sergeant E-5 at about an 80% pay cut, but he liked the Army and his wife, Delorise said Go for it. She was an Army brat and could handle it. And so, the 12-year journey to Command Sergeant Major began. Fred retired on 1 February His Awards and Decorations include: Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star w/5 OLC, Meritorious Service Medal w/3 OLC, Air Medal, Master Parachutist Badge. In 2006 he was elected to the Field Artillery OCS Hall of Fame at Fort Sill. The Sexton s bought a home in Green Valley in January 1997, after deciding the weather in North Carolina couldn't compare to southern Arizona s weather. Delorise passed away in 2015 after 44 years of marriage. Not only is CPT Sexton a Life Member of MOAA and the NCOA, but he is also the first person in the Chapter s history to pay his dues 4 years in advance! Holiday Wish List from the VA The holidays can be very difficult for hospitalized and homeless Veterans. To make their time at the VA more comfortable, please consider donating gifts that they do not normally receive at the hospital (i.e., no toiletries). For the safety of the patients, please do not donate items that are breakable, contain glass and/or sharp objects, or food that may compromise their diets. Suggested items include gift cards, baseball and knit hats, gloves/scarfs, back scratchers, watches, book lights, audio books on cd, cd players with headset, puzzle books (including large print), playing cards and hand-held electronic games. All gift items should be new. Should you wish to support the veterans, you may bring donations to the dinner meeting on December 6 or drop them at the McGee s house if you are unable to attend the meeting. Their address is 1908 E Longspur Place. That s the first right after the waterfall after you come through the gate at Quail Creek. If you want a receipt for your donation for tax purposes, forms will be available. Continuing Needs for Homeless Veterans If you traveled over the Thanksgiving holiday and brought home some of those travel-sized toiletries, please consider bringing them to the dinner meeting on December 6. One of our elves will get everything to the VA before the holiday rush begins. They also need razors, shaving cream, tooth paste, brushes and floss, and Chapstick for the colder nights ahead. Unlike the hospitalized veterans, the homeless veterans enjoy Jerky, Cheese crackers, granola bars, dried fruit, and other snack items. Should you have any leftover disposable utensils, paper plates, cups and napkins, they will be put to good use. And at holiday time, the homeless vets would appreciate gifts they can give to their pets along with food and litter. Pets are often the only family they have. If you are heading out of the area for Christmas and will be staying in hotels, pick up some of those small soaps, lotions, shampoo and conditioner. As long as the packages are unopened, the VA will be glad to get them. You may bring them to the January meeting. PAGE 4

5 End-of-Year Giving As 2017 draws to a close, it is time to think about income taxes and end-of-year giving to perhaps reduce your tax obligation. A couple causes to consider: Scholarships for JROTC students at Sahuarita (susd30.us), Rio Rico (scv35.org) and Nogales (nusd.k12.az.us) high schools. Besides being a charitable deduction on federal taxes, a single person can get up to a $200 credit on their AZ taxes and $400 for married filing jointly returns. The AZ tax credit applies whether one itemizes or takes the standard deduction. MOAA Scholarship & Military Assistance Fund. This enables your Chapter to continue to offer scholarships and assistance to military families and units like the 162 nd Fighter Wing. Checks payable to MOAA S&MA may be turned in at the December 6 dinner or mailed to MOAA, Green Valley Chapter, P.O. Box 769, Green Valley, AZ All monetary contributions will be acknowledged in writing. Any of the local charities that support the working poor, e.g., Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Valley Assistance Services, Salvation Army. AZ tax credits up to $800 for those filing jointly and $400 for single filers are offered. This can be claimed in addition to the school tax credit. Thank You, USAA for Support of Turkeys for Troops Recently, USAA repeated its 2016 support of the Green Valley Chapter s Turkeys for Troops program. As was the case last year, their grant to the Chapter provided the funds needed to purchase 30 premium turkeys and 30 commissary cards. Each of 30 families of enlisted personnel of the 162 nd Fighter Wing of the Arizona Air National Guard would be the recipients of a turkey and a card. Jim Knox and Dick Newman drove to the Davis Monthan commissary to make the purchases and assist in the loading of the turkeys 450 pounds of turkey (30 turkeys at approximately 15-lbs. each). Mrs. Barbara Gavre, manager of the Family Readiness Program for the 162 nd handled the distribution of the cards and turkeys to the families. Speaking for the Green Valley Chapter, our sincere thanks to USAA for their continued generous support of this on-going Chapter program. (L-R): Chief Master Sergeant Rose Mardula, 162 nd Fighter Wing, Jim Knox, President, Green Valley Chapter, Barbara Gavre,Family Readiness Program Manager, and Dick Newman, President of the Scholarship & Military Assistance Fund met at the Davis-Monthan Commissary to go shopping for turkeys. Photos: James Knox. Additional photos may be found in the Photo Gallery: greenvalleymoaa.org/photos-events. The plaque given to GVMOAA at the Turkeys for Troops presentation to the 162 nd AZANG on 16 Nov PAGE 5

6 MOAA Shared the Spirit of the Upcoming Season It was give back time for our Chapter at the October 18th dinner meeting when members brought gifts for Toys for Tots and the Chapter made a generous donation to the 162 nd Fighter Wing Food Locker. Guest speaker was Brigadier General Andrew J. MacDonald, Commander of the162 nd Fighter Wing, Arizona Air National Guard. General MacDonald talked about the diverse missions of the unit, with the great emphasis on training pilots for the F-16 around the globe. COL Peggy McGee, Chapter Treasurer, and 1LT Joe Longo, 1st Vice President for Membership, presented the General and Family Readiness Program Manager Barbara Gavre with a check for $2,000 to be used for their Wing s food pantry for the junior troops who might be struggling to make ends meet. (L-R) COL Peggy McGee presented a check for $2,000 to General MacDonald as Barbara Gavre, Family Readiness Program Manager, and 1LT Joe Longo looked on. Photo credit: Betty Atwater A longstanding program supported by the Scholarship and Military Assistance Fund of the Green Valley Chapter got a significant boost from the ASMBA STAR Foundation (dba Overwatch Alliance). Their recent grant to the Chapter resulted in the presentation of a check for $2,000 to Mrs. Barbara Gavre, Program Manager of the Family Readiness Program of the 162 nd, Arizona Air National Guard following the speech by General MacDonald, Wing Commander. It was also Toys for Tots night when many of the members brought Christmas gifts for disadvantaged youth in the area. Included in these gifts were a bicycle, dolls, trucks, action toys. In addition, $205 was donated for the Marines to purchase necessary items for the children. The three Marines from the Marine Corps Reserve in Tucson were delighted with the generosity of the group when they came to pick up the donations. Thanks to all who supported this effort. Marines from the Marine Corps Reserve Center in Tucson with some of the toys donated by members. Photo credit: John McGee In addition, members brought calendars and full-sized containers of toiletries which are ideal for the homeless veterans who have moved into housing. Veteran s Appreciation Week Photos There were a series of events and ceremonies earlier this month in our local area that focused on paying tribute to all our veterans for their service to our country. Here are a couple of photos of two events that took place on November 9 th and 11 th. There are additional photos of both events in the Photo Gallery at greenvalleymoaa.org/photos-events. Nov. 9 The Continental School s ceremony at the school s flagpole. Photo credit: Peggy McGee Nov. 11 Wreath laying ceremony at the Green Valley Mortuary and Cemetery began at 9:30. This beautiful wreath was hand-made by Bettie Rundlett. PAGE 6

7 Law Authorizes Veteran s Salutes During National Anthem For those who might not be aware: PAGE 7

8 Massing of the Colors Slated for January 13 The 32 nd Annual Massing of the Colors and Service of Remembrance will be held on Saturday, January 13 at 10:00 a.m. in the Sahuarita Unified School District Auditorium, 350 W. Sahuarita Rd. This free event salutes not only currently serving, former and retired members of the military, but also police officers, fire fighters and others who work around the clock to keep us safe to enjoy the quality of life that we as Americans often take for granted. The free event sponsored by the Santa Cruz Valley Chapter Military Order of the World Wars will feature color guards from various military and community groups and musical entertainment. This year s theme is Today s Youth Tomorrow s Leaders. The program will highlight the vital importance entrusted to us to secure a brighter and promising future for all our youth, through our continued investment in encouraging, mentoring and inspiring tomorrow s leaders. Save The Date! Auxiliary Luncheon for a Good Cause Mark your calendars for Tuesday, February 27 at high noon. The Auxiliary will be hosting a luncheon to raise awareness of a Tucsonbased horse therapy program aimed at helping victims of PTSD cope with the stresses of life. Complete details in the January newsletter. October Meeting Photos Photos capturing the October meeting were taken by Betty Atwater. Access the photo album from the Photo Gallery to view additional photos taken that evening: greenvalleymoaa.org/photos-events. Thank you, Betty! Happy Birthday! DECEMBER LtCol Richard Kosnick Jackie Dow JANUARY Patsy Johnson CPT William Maratos CPT Robert Marben LCDR Jon Ruse CDR Irene Silverman MAJ William Bracco Jr. FEBRUARY LTC Robert Little Jr. MAJ James Goodyear MAJGEN John Dolny LTC John Danner 1LT Barry Nelson Betty Atwater CDR Bruce Summers COL Lee Cornelison Barbara Cooper LCDR Glenn Lundell Julie Hazelton MAJ Larry Nielsen LTC John McGee PAGE 8

9 2017 Events Schedule December 6 Dinner at Quail Creek Clubhouse. Registration 5-5:30pm. Christmas Dinner, no speaker, installation of officers Events Schedule Additional dates for 2018 will be added to this list soon. Check the website for updates: greenvalleymoaa.org. January 23 Lunch meeting; Quail Creek Clubhouse. Details: TBA March 22 4:30pm-6:30pm Quail Creek Clubhouse. Mix & Mingle, Hors d oeuvres. No Host Bar. Date: TBA May 1 Quail Creek Clubhouse. JROTC Scholarship Dinner (tentative date). Details: TBA June 2 Spring AZCOC Meeting Luke Chapter in Phoenix, AZ October 1-4 Fall AZCOC Meeting in Phoenix, AZ. Lt General Atkins to present LOE Awards (date may change) Board Meetings The Board of Directors meeting is the 1st Wednesday of each month 8:30-10:00 a.m. at the Friends in Deed Building, Green Valley. Members are welcomed to attend join us! Officers, Directors & Chairs President: LCDR James Knox, USN (Ret) First Vice-President and Membership: 1LT Joseph Longo USA (Fmr) Second Vice-President: CAPT Tom Contreras, USN (Ret) Secretary: Mrs. Bettie Rundlett Treasurer: COL Peggy McGee, USA (Ret) Immediate Past President, President, 501(c)(3): 1LT Richard Newman, USAR (Fmr) National MOAA Board Member, Past President, ESGR and Legislative Affairs: CDR John Chernoski, USN, (Ret) Director, Auxiliary Affairs: (position vacant) Director, Personal Affairs: CWO3 James Rundlett, USCG (Ret) Past President & Chaplain: COL Eugene Friesen, USA (Ret) Director/JROTC Liaison: CAPT Tom Contreras, USN (Ret) Historian: COL Marianne Rogers Faust, USAF (Ret) Transition Liaison: CPT Kelly Galvin, USA, (Ret) Public Relations Officer: COL Peggy McGee, USA (Ret) Webmaster/Newsletter Editor: Marianne Cobarrubias, gvmoaa@gmail.com Sponsors A huge thank you to our sponsors who support MOAA of Green Valley with a sponsor ad! PAGE 9

10 Photo Gallery Photos and video clips may be accessed via a link in the sidebar to the Photo Gallery at greenvalleymoaa.org. Archived Newsletters Looking for back issues of the chapter s newsletter? Go to the News & Events page on the website: greenvalleymoaa.org/news-events. FROM NATIONAL MOAA Supply & Demand: The Challenge of Maintaining an All-Volunteer Force Quality recruits come at a cost. Are we willing to pay it? The Senate defense authorization bill doesn t look promising. MOAA s strategic goal with our advocacy is to ensure government enacts and maintains policies to sustain a career force of the size and quality needed to maintain a strong national defense. We have lobbied to ensure adequate troop strength, but we haven t devoted as much attention to quality. It is now critical to discuss both. They are inseparable, and they are both in jeopardy. Why the alarm? Because our nation has relied on the all-volunteer force since 1973, and all that time we have taken the volunteer pool for granted. That s about to change because the pool has changed. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow, commanding general of the Army s Recruiting Command, identified the crux of the problem in a November 2016 interview with the Arizona Republic: The problem that we are facing is that so few actually can meet the qualification requirements to join the military. Only three in 10 of today s youth can actually meet the requirements. That number gets even smaller, around 20 percent, when you take college-bound young people out of the equation. This problem stems from a bigger picture: There are approximately 20 million year old s in America. Of those, 11.3 million meet academic requirements. Only about 4.4 million of those are even eligible to join. Assessing propensity to join, we are left with about 465,000 truly potential recruits From that pool, DoD needs 250,000 a year. Adding to the challenge: 52 percent of parents would not recommend military service for their children. This likely cuts the pool of potential recruits even further. Our nation is facing a basic but significant supply and demand challenge. While President Donald Trump and several members of Congress support an increase in our troop strength, they do so in an environment constrained not only by the budget, but also by the pool of qualified and interested recruits whose top reasons for joining are centered on pay and education benefits. In this environment, it defies logic for the Senate s version of the FY 2018 defense authorization bill to propose a reduced military pay raise of 2.1 percent, versus the 2.4 percent raise that would be consistent with the Employment Cost Index the legislated benchmark. Further, the Senate proposes to eliminate a dependent-rate housing allowance for military couples stationed together with children. This erosion of military compensation is out of touch with today s demands of repeated deployments and a worsening recruiting environment. This is an immediate problem, warranting contact with your members of Congress. PAGE 10

11 Meanwhile, a similar problem might loom in the near future: the 13th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (QRMC) and the President s charge to the Secretary of Defense to assess the adequacy of military compensation and, essentially, decide if a salary system would be more effective for recruiting and retention. This government study of military compensation is required by law and must take place no less than every four years. The findings of this study will result in a report to Congress. The focus on the potential for a salary system is of concern to MOAA if it is used to continue reducing military compensation in any way. Our nation s ability to field the most effective armed forces, of the size and quality needed, is in jeopardy, and there are two key aspects of this problem: First, the supply is dwindling. This is a national problem which Congress cannot fix. Second, the compensation and benefits that help motivate people to join and stay are eroding. This is a problem Congress can and must fix. To share your concerns with your members of Congress, please visit moaa.org/takeaction. 50 World War I Memorials Get $2K Restoration Grants Dozens of statues, fountains, arches, and other sites honoring troops who fought in World War I will soon be upgraded or restored thanks to $2,000 grants from the 100 Cities/100 Memorials project. Fifty memorials across 28 states will be officially designated WWI Centennial Memorials on Wednesday. The sites were selected by the World War One Centennial Commission and Pritzker Military Museum & Library in effort to draw attention to monuments honoring troops who fought in World War I. Each memorial will receive a $2,000 grant toward restoration and maintenance costs. The American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars also partnered on the project. Col. Eugene Scott, USA (Ret), and his wife, Beverly, helped the Victory Memorial in Chicago secure a grant. The Victory Memorial honors Illinois' 370th Infantry Regiment, the only all-black unit to be commanded by African-American officers. The unit was sent to fight alongside the French. They wore French uniforms, ate French food, and fought with French weapons, Scott said. These were sensitive issues on what to do with black combat soldiers during World War I, he added. Fighting with the French was a challenge, and they did well. We are proud that we have such a beautiful monument to commemorate the service of our combat black soldiers. There's still a lot that Americans can learn from World War I, Scott said. They plan to add a memorial garden to Victory Memorial, which will include evergreen trees, as a way to honor the troops with 370th Infantry Regiment, as well as perennial plants to symbolically hand that history off to future generations. We have to let young people know what these men did and how they met all these challenges, Scott said. It helps them better appreciate their country and for the service of these soldiers. More than 4 million American families sent their sons and daughters to serve in uniform during World War I, according to Terry Hamby, commissioner of the United States World War One Centennial Commission. 100 Cities/100 Memorials is a critically important initiative that will have an impact beyond these grants, Hambry said in a release announcing the grants. These memorials represent an important part of remembering our past and preserving our culture. PAGE 11

12 Fifty more memorials will get matching grants in The submission period for those awards runs from Sept. 27 through Jan. 15. Work on the memorials must be complete by Nov. 11, the 100th anniversary of the day the fighting ceased. For a list of the first 50 sites to receive the WWI Centennial Memorial designation and $2,000 in funding please visit moaa.org. How to Avoid Phishing Scams The online phenomenon of phishing - getting tricked through into revealing your personal information to a scammer - has been around since the mid-1990s. But people still are getting caught, and phishers still are sending out their bait. The word "phishing" is a relatively new coinage, deliberately meant to sound like "fishing" because bait is used to try to catch victims. Here's how to avoid getting caught. Phishing s try to excite you or scare you into doing stupid things such as opening an attachment that loads malware onto your computer or clicking on a link that takes you to a fake website. The malware might spy on you, capturing your keystrokes to steal your login and password to your bank. The fake site might look just like your real credit card site, prompting you to type in your login and password. If you see a message, "You've won a prize!" and you never entered that contest, chances are extremely high you're being preyed upon. If you see a message that your information has been stolen and you should "click here," chances are extremely high that you're being preyed upon. If you see a message that Microsoft has remotely detected a virus on your PC, chances are extremely high that you're being preyed upon. Instead of clicking on a link or opening an attachment, use your web browser to go to the company's website, log in as you normally would, and check if you have any messages there. If you're using a laptop or desktop PC, you can "mouse over" a questionable link to see what web address it will take you to. Phishers often use the correct web address as the name of the link but code the link to take you to the bogus address. If the two aren't the same, chances are extremely high you're being directed to a phishing site. Be especially wary of web addresses that include symbol or messages that ask you to click on an image. You also should be careful when typing web addresses into your browser so a typo doesn't land you at a phishing site by mistake. Using a bookmark or favorite to navigate to the site will prevent this. Alternately, you can call and talk to customer support. Look up the company's phone number yourself rather than using a number provided in an message. Be careful on Facebook and other social networking sites. Scammers troll these waters looking for innocents to bait, tricking them into revealing financial information, Social Security numbers, mother's maiden names, and so on. Keep your web browser up-to-date, whether you use Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or any other. Modern browsers include some phishing protection. PAGE 12

13 Use security software that provides additional phishing safeguards, such as Norton Security ( Alternately, you can use a free browser add-on such as McAfee Site Advisor ( Though these protections aren't foolproof, they can warn you if a site you're about to visit is suspected of malicious activity. Some tip-offs are more obvious. If a questionable includes incorrect spelling and grammar, chances are it's from a scammer from abroad whose native language isn't English. If the 's "To" field is blank or if the salutation reads something like, "Hello, [blank]," chances are it's part of a mass ing from someone more malicious than sophisticated. You might be savvy enough to avoid the above mistakes. Make sure family members, friends, and coworkers are as well. Nobody wants to spend tedious hours trying to straighten out the mess after a scammer has stolen their identity. Next Desert Duster Newsletter published: JANUARY 9, 2018 DEADLINE Please submit your newsletter items by midnight on JAN. 5 Th to: gvmoaa@gmail.com Thank you! CONTRIBUTORS Betty Atwater Barbara Brown James Knox John McGee Peggy McGee Richard Newman Editor: Marianne Cobarrubias VISIT OUR WEBSITE: greenvalleymoaa.org MEMBERSHIP: greenvalleymoaa.org/membership-info PHOTOS & VIDEOS: greenvalleymoaa.org/photos-events PAGE 13